Azure AI Transcription SDK for Python

Client library for Azure AI Transcription (speech-to-text) with real-time and batch transcription.

Installation

pip install azure-ai-transcription

Environment Variables

TRANSCRIPTION_ENDPOINT=
TRANSCRIPTION_KEY=<your-key>

Authentication

Use subscription key authentication (DefaultAzureCredential is not supported for this client):

import os
from azure.ai.transcription import TranscriptionClient

client = TranscriptionClient(
    endpoint=os.environ["TRANSCRIPTION_ENDPOINT"],
    credential=os.environ["TRANSCRIPTION_KEY"]
)

Transcription (Batch)

job = client.begin_transcription(
    name="meeting-transcription",
    locale="en-US",
    content_urls=[""],
    diarization_enabled=True
)
result = job.result()
print(result.status)

Transcription (Real-time)

stream = client.begin_stream_transcription(locale="en-US")
stream.send_audio_file("audio.wav")
for event in stream:
    print(event.text)

Best Practices

Enable diarization when multiple speakers are present

Use batch transcription for long files stored in blob storage

Capture timestamps for subtitle generation

Specify language to improve recognition accuracy

Handle streaming backpressure for real-time transcription

Close transcription sessions when complete